scholarly journals Occurrence and spatial distribution of neutral perfluoroalkyl substances and cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes in the atmosphere of the Tibetan Plateau

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 8745-8755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoping Wang ◽  
Jasmin Schuster ◽  
Kevin C. Jones ◽  
Ping Gong
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Grand Canyon ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Perfluoroalkyl Substances ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Transport Channel ◽  
Remote Environment ◽  
Global Background

Abstract. Due to their properties of bioaccumulation, toxicity, and long-range atmospheric transport, polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes (cVMSs) are currently being considered as emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for regulation. To date, there are limited data on PFASs and cVMSs in the atmosphere of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), a remote environment which can provide information on global background conditions. Sorbent-impregnated polyurethane foam (SIP) disc passive air samplers were therefore deployed for 3 months (May to July 2011 and 2013) at 16 locations across the TP. Using previously reported methods for estimating the air volume sampled by SIP discs, the derived atmospheric concentrations ranged as follows: 18–565 ng m−3 for ΣcVMS (including D3, D4, D5, and D6); 65–223 pg m−3 for fluorotelomer alcohols (ΣFTOHs); 1.2–12.8 pg m−3 for fluorinated sulfonamides (ΣFOSA); and 0.29–1.02 pg m−3 for fluorinated sulfonamidoethanols (ΣFOSE). The highest ΣcVMS occurred at Lhasa, the capital city of the TP, indicating the local contribution to the emerging pollutants. Higher levels of ΣFTOHs were observed at sites close to the transport channel of the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, indicating possible long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT). Elevated concentrations of shorter-chain volatile PFAS precursors (4 : 2 FTOH and fluorobutane sulfonamidoethanol) were found in most air samples, reflecting the shift in production from long- to short-chain PFASs in Asia. Overall, concentrations of emerging POPs at background sites of the TP were 1–3 orders of magnitude higher than those reported for legacy POPs.

scholarly journals Occurrence and Spatial Distribution of the Neutral Per-fluoroalkyl Substances, and Cyclic Volatile Methylsiloxanes in Atmosphere of the Tibetan Plateau

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoping Wang ◽  
Jasmin Schuster ◽  
Kevin C. Jones ◽  
Ping Gong
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Grand Canyon ◽  
Capital City ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Transport Channel ◽  
Local Contribution ◽  
Remote Environment ◽  
Global Background

Abstract. Due to their properties of bioaccumulation, toxicity, and long-range atmospheric transport, poly and per-fluoroalkylsubstances (PFASs), and cyclic volatile methyl silxoanes (cVMS) are currently being considered as emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for regulation. To date, there are limited data on PFASs and cVMS in the atmosphere of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), a remote environment which can provide information on global background conditions. Sorbent-impregnated polyurethane foam (SIP) disk passive air samplers were therefore deployed for three months (May to July 2011 and 2013) at 16 locations across the TP. Using previously reported methods for estimating the air volume sampled by SIP disks, the derived atmospheric concentrations ranged as follows: 18–565 ng/m3 for ∑cVMS (including D3, D4, D5, and D6); 65–223 pg/m3 for fluorotelomer alcohols (∑FTOHs); 1.2–12.8 pg/m3 for fluorinated sulfonamides (∑FOSA); and 0.29–1.02 pg/m3 for fluorinated sulfonamidoethanols (∑FOSE). The highest ∑cVMS occurred at Lhasa, the capital city of the TP, indicating the local contribution to the emerging pollutants. Higher levels of ∑FTOHs were observed at sites close to the transport channel of the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, indicating possible long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT). Elevated concentrations of shorter-chain volatile PFAS precursors (4 : 2 FTOH and fluorobutane sulfonamidoethanol) were found in most air samples, reflecting the shift in production from long- to short-chain PFASs in Asia. Overall, concentrations of emerging POPs at background sites of the TP were 1–3 orders of magnitude higher than those reported for legacy POPs.

scholarly journals Microplastics in glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau: Evidence for the long-range transport of microplastics

2021 ◽  
Vol 758 ◽  
pp. 143634
Author(s):  
Yulan Zhang ◽  
Tanguang Gao ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
Steve Allen ◽  
Xi Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Long Range Transport ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Range Transport

scholarly journals Enhanced trans-Himalaya pollution transport to the Tibetan Plateau by cut-off low systems

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 3083-3095 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruixiong Zhang ◽  
Yuhang Wang ◽  
Qiusheng He ◽  
Laiguo Chen ◽  
Yuzhong Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Long Range Transport ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Pollution Transport ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Gangetic Plain ◽  
Range Transport

Abstract. Long-range transport followed by deposition of black carbon on glaciers of Tibet is one of the key issues of climate research as it induces changes on radiative forcing and subsequently impacting the melting of glaciers. The transport mechanism, however, is not well understood. In this study, we use short-lived reactive aromatics as proxies to diagnose transport of pollutants to Tibet. In situ observations of short-lived reactive aromatics across the Tibetan Plateau are analyzed using a regional chemistry and transport model. The model performance using the current emission inventories over the region is poor due to problems in the inventories and model transport. Top-down emissions constrained by satellite observations of glyoxal are a factor of 2–6 higher than the a priori emissions over the industrialized Indo-Gangetic Plain. Using the top-down emissions, agreement between model simulations and surface observations of aromatics improves. We find enhancements of reactive aromatics over Tibet by a factor of 6 on average due to rapid transport from India and nearby regions during the presence of a high-altitude cut-off low system. Our results suggest that the cut-off low system is a major pathway for long-range transport of pollutants such as black carbon. The modeling analysis reveals that even the state-of-the-science high-resolution reanalysis cannot simulate this cut-off low system accurately, which probably explains in part the underestimation of black carbon deposition over Tibet in previous modeling studies. Another model deficiency of underestimating pollution transport from the south is due to the complexity of terrain, leading to enhanced transport. It is therefore challenging for coarse-resolution global climate models to properly represent the effects of long-range transport of pollutants on the Tibetan environment and the subsequent consequence for regional climate forcing.

scholarly journals Distribution Characteristics and Source of Dechloranes in Soil and Lichen of the Fildes Peninsula (Antarctica)

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Gao ◽  
Guangshui Na ◽  
Yao Yao ◽  
Ruijing Li ◽  
Yuhang Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Long Range ◽  
Coastal Area ◽  
Emerging Contaminants ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Regional Distribution ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Distribution Characteristics ◽  
Fildes Peninsula ◽  
The Mean

Dechloranes (Decs) have been widely found in the environment, even in the Tibetan Plateau and remote polar regions. However, the understanding of their regional distribution characteristics in polar regions is limited. To study the long-range atmospheric transport and fates of these emerging contaminants, Decs were analyzed in soil and lichen from the Fildes Peninsula in Antarctica. The concentrations of five Decs in soil and lichen ranged from 141.46 to 838.47 pg/g dw and 237.04 to 3599.18 pg/g dw, respectively. The mean fractions of anti-Dechlorane Plus (DP) (fanti) values estimated in the current soils (0.37) and lichen (0.24) were lower than those of commercial products (fanti = 0.64–0.80), which confirms that long-range atmospheric transport is a main source of DP, and the DP burdens could be driven by the accumulation of syn-DP. The average ΣDP concentration in soil in the coastal area was higher than that in the inland area and Ardley Island, while in lichen, the average DP concentration at the Ardley Island site was approximately three-fold higher than that in the coastal area and inland areas. This indicates that the distribution of DP was influenced by anthropogenic interference and animal activities in the Fildes Peninsula. The spatial variation of fanti of the three regions was clearer in soil than that in lichen. The fanti values were negatively correlated with DP concentrations in soil, suggesting that DP concentration levels play an important role in determining the isomeric composition of DP in the soil.

Atmospheric Transport of Mercury to the Tibetan Plateau

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (22) ◽  
pp. 7632-7638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Loewen ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
Debbie Armstrong ◽  
Qianggong Zhang ◽  
Gregg Tomy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau
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